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Tuesday, July 31, 2012

“Why would anyone want to leave Boston … even after they're dead?"

--Adam Berry, Ghost Hunters

It should come as no surprise that one of the
nation’s oldest cities brims with spirits of those who lived and died
in its hundreds of years of tumultuous history. Boston, Massachusetts
boasts countless stories of the supernatural. Many students at Boston
College have encountered an unearthly hound that haunts O’Connell House
to this day. Be on the watch for an actor who sits in on rehearsals at
Huntington Theatre and restless spirits rumored to haunt Boston Common
at night. From the Victorian brownstones of the Back Bay to the shores of
the Boston Harbor Islands, author Sam Baltrusis makes it clear that
there is hardly a corner of the Hub where the paranormal cannot be
experienced as he breathes new life into the tales of the long
departed.

About the cover:

Beacon Hill's Acorn Street, known as one of the most-photographed spots
in America thanks to its picturesque brownstones and narrow cobblestone
lane dating back to the 1820s, is also rumored to be Boston's most
haunted. There have been numerous sightings of ghostly, full-bodied
apparitions wearing
turn-of-the-century and Civil War-era garb passing by the street's
ornate, gas-lit lamps.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Here's a shot of the Charlesgate Hotel, Boston's version of NYC's The
Dakota (location for the film "Rosemary's Baby" and the spot where John
Lennon was murdered).

This creepy building is a hotbed of alleged
paranormal activity since it was original built in 1891. Formerly a
Boston University and Emerson dorm, the site is the source of a slew of
reports from students (from the '70s to the mid-'90s) claiming the
building is haunted.

I'm currently working on a book project
called "Ghosts of Boston: Haunts of the Hub" where I'm
exploring paranormal activity at a handful of college dorms/schools
scattered throughout New England. In the book, I also examine alleged paranormal activity at a handful of site-specific locations, including the Emerson Cutler Majestic and the Omni Parker House.

The writing project will cover
everything from my old dorm room on the 4th Floor of Boston University's
Shelton Hall (rumor is Eugene O'Neill and his wife Carlotta continue to
haunt the Writers' Corridor) to the refurbished Charlesgate Hotel in the
Back Bay.

The Charlesgate Hotel (coupled with The Barnes Mansion) is now an upscale condo building. Click here for details.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

If you believe the Freedom Trail is the end all of Boston history,
think again. There are a slew of hidden haunts from Boston’s
not-so-Puritanical past in one the oldest city parks in the United
States. Yep, the Boston Common is chock full of ghosts, graves and
gallows.

While Salem is known for its witch trials, the Boston Common held public hangings
until 1769 on an old elm tree in the western side of the Common. The
tree was later replaced with gallows, or a wooden contraption used for
public executions until 1817.

Compared to Salem, there were only three witchcraft-related hangings which included Margaret Jones, Anne Hibbins and Goody Glover. Boston's so-called witch hysteria lasted over a 40-year period. All three alleged witches were later exonerated and Glover, who is considered a Catholic martyr, has a bar/restaurant named after her on Salem Street in the North End.

Mary Dyer, who was targeted by the Boston Puritans for being a Quaker
and is immortalized as a bronze statue in front of the Massachusetts
State House, was one of several women persecuted in the Boston Common
because of their religious beliefs.

There’s a plaque honoring the spot of the Great Elm and alleged site
of the public hangings, which was destroyed in 1876 and honored with a
hard-to-find historic marker near the Frog Pond on the western side of
the Common.

On the Boylston Street side of the park is the Central Burying Ground, the final resting place of artist Gilbert Stuart and composerWilliam Billings. In the 1830s, a pedestrian mall was constructed, which eliminated about 15 feet of the southern part of the cemetery.

During 1895, human remains of 900 to 1,100 bodies were uncovered and
there’s a mass grave for these unmarked graves in the northeast side of
the burial ground. There’s also the spooky story of a 13-year-old girl, rumored to haunt the cemetery.

The Boston Common's more infamous ghost story involves two women, rumored to be sisters, who are dressed in
1830s-style garb and have been spotted walking arm-in-arm or sitting on a
bench. When visitors try to approach the ghostly duo, the apparitions
mysteriously disappear.

Boston Haunts Tip: Many of the buildings surrounding the Boston Common are home to alleged paranormal activity, including the third floor of the recently refurbished Omni
Park House Hotel, at 60 School St., the Boston Athenaeum at 10 ½ School
St. and Emerson’s Cutler Majestic Theater located at 219 Tremont.

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About The Book

Boston is a hotbed of paranormal activity. Whether you're a believer in the “Boo!” business or just an amused skeptic, journalist Sam Baltrusis navigates more than three-hundred years of the city's haunted history and uncovers a few skeletons in our collective closet. Stories of Colonial-era spirits roaming the Common and of a British soldier in full redcoat regalia standing in the middle of the tracks at the Boylston “T” station, are a few of the haunts from New England's not-so-Puritanical past.
When it comes to school spirits, Boston has more than its fair share of them. Spine-chilling tales of unexplained sounds, flickering lights, residual apparitions, and levitating objects have become a rite of passage for the uninitiated freshman adapting to life in one of the Hub's haunted dorms. The difference between Boston's specters and other run-of-the-mill ghosts? Our poltergeists are wicked smart.
We got spirits, yes we do.
"Ghosts of Boston: Haunts of the Hub" is now available.

About The Author

Journalist Sam Baltrusis freelances for various publications including Boston Spirit magazine and STUFF. He teaches writing and journalism classes at the Boston Center for Adult Education (BCAE). His blog, Loaded Gun Boston, is an online destination focusing on the latest crop of made-in-Boston films, showcasing the behind-the-scenes buzz surrounding Hollywood East as well as the people, places and products featured. As a side gig, he moonlights as a tour guide with Haunted Boston, highlighting the city's historical haunts. In the past, he's worked for VH1, MTV.com, Newsweek, WHDH.com, ABC Radio and as a regional stringer for The New York Times. Currently living in Somerville's Davis Square, Baltrusis shares a home with a mischievous, female spirit with an affinity for sharp objects. He jokingly calls her “Scissor Sister.” His first book, "Ghosts of Boston: Haunts of the Hub," is hitting shelves in early September 2012.